Drain valve



July 30, 1935. c, C, FARMER 2,009,845

DRAIN VALVE Filed May 5, 1954 Tigg. Z

INVENTOR CLYDE C. FARMER ATTORN Y Patented July 30, I935 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE DRAIN VALVE Clyde 0. Farmer, Pittsburgh, Pa assignor toThe t 'Westinghouse 'Air Brake Company, Wilmerding, Pa, a corporation ofPennsylvania Application May 5, 1934, Serial No. 724,098

. 8 Claims. 01. 251-132) This invention relates to valves and moreparticularly to manually operated drain valves for draining condensedsteam from the cylinders. and steam passages of steam engines and'iordraining moisture from reservoirs for storing-compressed air or otherfluid under pressure. 1

The conventional drain valve deviceis of the plug valve type, requiringthe use of lubricant between the valve and seat for rendering the valveeasy to operate. When the valve is closed, the lubricant on theportion'of the plug valve exposed to the atmosphere within the outletpas sage of the drain valve device catches dust and dirt which may 'iindits way into said passage, and when the valve is opened this dustand'dirt is carried onto the valve seat, with the result that both thevalve and its seat are scored. I When a. drain valve of this typeis'employed for draining condensed steam from the steam cylinders andsteam passages of steam engines, the lubricant between the valve andseat is soon cut by the action of the steam, and the plug valve thentends to seize in the drain valve body, so that when the valve isoperated, both the valve and'its seat are scored. With the valve and itsseat scored, there will be leakage of steam, compressed air," or otherfluid under pressure, as the case may be, between the valve and seat.

. The principal object of .the invention is to avoid the above mentioneddifficulty, and to accomplish this I provide a drain valve device havinga poppet type of valve which does not require any lubricant and whichdoes'not tend to seize in the valve body.

manually operated drain valve device which may be easily and cheaplymaintained.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following moredetailed'description of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing: Fig. 1 is a cen tral sectional view of adrain valve device embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a section on theline 2--2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a section'on the line ---3 of FigQl.1

As shown inthe drawing, the device may comprise a body portion lcontaining the open-ended chambers 2 and 3 and a chamber 4 intermediate-Another object of the invention is to provide a -ceive a pipeZLwhich-may be connected to the steam cylinder or steam passage of ,asteam engine or to a fluid pressure reservoir from which it is desiredto drain moisture. The portion 24.

of the body I surrounding ,saidouter end of chamber 2 is preferablyhexagonal in' shape, 15 forming a wrench-hold soas to permit the appli--cation of a wrench to said .bodywhen connecting the drain valvedevice tosaid pipe.

Two, aligned openings 22 are provided in the wall of chamber 3 forreasons hereinafter fully set forth.

An annular valve seat 1 is formed on the body I at the junction ofthechambers Z1 and 4. A pop-q pet valve 8 is adapted to, seat on saidvalve seatv for controlling communication from chamber. 2 to chamber 4.The valve 8 isprovided with, a stems which freely extends through thebore l0,

into chamber 3; i

Carried by the stem ,9 within the chamber .3 a coil spring llplacedunder initial compression between the partition wall .5 and awasher 12, which washer is held against outward movement on saidstem bya pin l3 which may be loosely carried within an opening insaid stem. Thespring I I being under compression, normally acts to maintain the valve8 seated. The head of the valve 8 is provided with a transverse slotadapted to receive the blade of ajscrew driver or other suitable toolfor rotating said valve when grinding it to its seat and forfacilitating the assembly operation of the drain valve device, as willbe explainedhereinafter. V V 1 For'controlling the operationof the valve8, a plunger M is provided .which'is slidably mounted in chamber 3. Saidplunger is provided on one,35 face with a recess l8 andabore l5 openinginto the bottom of said recess and in aXial alignment with the bore Ill.Loosely received in the bore- I5 is the end of the valve stemil,v andthussaid bore cooperates with the boreifl to guide said 40 valve stem.The pin I3 'is received'within the recess 96, with a small amountiofclearance between the ends of said pin and the wall of said recess,. sothat said wall prevents the pinlS fromwork- 7 ing out of the opening inwhich it is carried in the stem fi. I J V For controlling'the operationof the plunger l4, a cam i1 is provided which is formed on a shaftl8,'which shaft is rotatably carried within two aligned openingsprovided in the wall of chamber 3, said openings being spaced outwardlyfrom the openings 22, for a purpose which will appear hereinafter.'In'the'present embodiment of the invention, the cam I1 is" formed byreducing the "diameter of the central portion of the 55.?

shaft I8 and cutting away a portion of the periphery of the resultingreduced section so as to form a flat surface 21 parallel to the axis ofsaid shaft. By this construction, a shoulder 28 is formed at thejunction of said cam with each end of said shaft, each shoulderextending outwardly from the peripheral face of said cam. One end of theshaft I8 extends exteriorly of the body I and is provided with amanually operable handle I9 which, in the construction shown, isintegral with said shaft.

Loosely fitting in the space between the shoul-' ders 20 and engagingthe peripheral face of the cam I1 is a boss 26 which is provided on theplunger I4, said boss being maintained in en gagement with said cam faceby I a spring 23 under compression between said plunger and thepartition wall 5.

The operating handle I9 is so positioned-on the shaft I8 that with thevalve 8 seated, said handle is in alignment with the longitudinal axisof the body I and extends from said shaft in a direction toward thewrench-hold portion 24012 the body I, the outer end of the hand portionof said handle stopping short of the end of the body so that it will notinterfere with the use of a wrench on the wrench-hold portion 24. Thehand portion of the handle I9 is spaced away from the body I so as toprovide clearance for the hand when operating the valve device.

It will be noted that when the cam is in a position for permitting'thevalve 8 to be seated, as shown in the drawing, there is a slight amountof clearance between the end of the stem 9 and the bottom of the bore15, thereby insuring that the valve will not be held open by theengagement of said stem with the bottom of said bore when the handle I9is in the closed position.

It will be understood that the spring I I acts to .urge the valve 8 toits seat and the spring 23 acts to maintain the boss 26 on the plungerI4 in engagement with the cam I1. With the handle I9 in closed position,as shown in the drawing,the boss 28 engages the fiat portion 21 of theperipheral face of the cam I! and thereby prevents rattling of the shaftI8 and the plunger I 4.

When assembling the parts within the valve device, the valve 8 is firstinserted through the open end of chamber 2 with the'stem 9 extendingthrough the bore I9 into chamber 3 and with the opening for the pin I3in said stem disposed in substantial alignment with the openings 22,after which the spring II and washer 12 are applied over said stemthrough the open end of chamber 3. Now the washer I2 is forced inwardly,against the pressure of the spring II, by a suitable tool applied tosaid washer through the open end of chamber 3, until said washer clearsthe opening provided in the stem for the pin I3, whereupon said pin isinserted in said opening through one of the openings 22, and then thewasher is permitted to engage said pin under the action of the springII.

The spring 23 and plunger I4 are now placed within chamber 3 and saidplunger is forced inwardly against the resistance of said spring by afinger of the hand or. by a suitable implement applied thereto throughthe open end of chamber 3 until the end of the boss 26 on said plungerhas been moved a sufficient distance to permit a pin (not shown),hereinafter called a holding pin, to be inserted through the openings22. During this movement of the plunger I4, it will engage the stem 9 atthe bottom of the bore I5, with the result that said stem is movedtoward the left hand, causing the spring I I to be compressed. With aholding pin inserted in the openings 22, the force applied to theplunger I4 to move same inwardly may now be released and the holding pinwill then engage the boss 26 and thereby hold the plunger, against thepressure of the springs II and 23,v in a position for facilitatingfurther assembly.

With the plunger I4 held in the above mentioned position by the holdingpin, the cam shaft I8 is mounted in the openings provided for it inthe'body I and the holding pin is then withdrawn from the openings 22.With the holding pin thus withdrawn, the plunger I4 is moved outwardly,at first by the action of both springs II and 23 and finally by theaction of spring 23 alone, until the end of the boss 26 engages the camll, provided the shaft I8 is in a position permitting entrance of saidboss in the space between the shoulders 20 on said shaft. If, however,the shaft is not in a position permitting entrance of the boss 26 in thespace between said shoulders, then the shaft is shifted in the directionof its length until said boss does not enter said space.

It will be noted that with the boss 26 maintained in engagement with theperipheral face of the cam II within the space between the shoulders 20,which, according tothe construction hereinbefore described, extendoutwardly beyond the peripheral face of the cam H, the shaft I8 is heldagainst movement out of the openings provided for it in the body I.

If it is desired to remove the shaft I8 from the drain valve device, theplunger I4 is forced inwardly, preferably by an implement inserted inthe open end of chamber 3 and having a forked end for spanning the camll and engaging plunger I4, until the boss 26 has been moved out of thespace between the shoulders 20. The shaft I8 may now be removed from thebody I. It is obvious that with the shaft I8 removed, the remainder ofthe drain valve device may be readily disassembled. With the shaft I8,plunger I4 and spring 23 removed, to remove the pin I3, the stem 9 isturned by means of a screw driver, or other suitable tool, engagingwithin the slot 25 in the head of the valve 8, until said pin issubstantially in alignment with the openings 22, after which the washerI2 is forced inwardlyout of engagement with the pin by means of asuitable implement inserted in the open end of chamber 3. Said pinhaving a loose fit in the stem 9, if the drain valve device ispositioned as shown in Fig. 2, the pin will, by gravity, drop out ofsaid stem and through the lower opening.

With the operating handle I9 in closed position, as shown in thedrawing, the plunger I4 will be held in engagement with the flat portion21 of the peripheral face of the cam I 4 by the spring 23 and the valve8 will be held seated by the spring II and by the pressure of the fluidin chamber 2 and connected pipe 2I.

When it is desired to open the drain valve device, the operating handleI9 may be turned in either direction from the position shown in Fig. 2.The cam I1 is thereby rotated so that the plunger I4 is forced inwardly,engaging the end of the valve stem 9 at the bottom of the bore I andthereby unseating the valve 8, so that communication is opened fromchamber 2 to chamber 4. Moisture which may have collected in chamber 2and the connected pipe 2 I, and also the steam cylinder or reservoir towhich pipe 2| is connected, is

thereupon drained off through the passage 6,

During the inward movement of the plunger [4, the springs H and 23 arecompressed.

When the handle I9 is returned to its closed position, as shown in thedrawing, the spring 23 returns the plunger H to its normal position andthe spring ll acts to close the valve 8.

As the handle [9 is moved from open to closed position, the roundedportion of the peripheral face of the cam I1 is moved out of engagementwith the plunger l4 and the flat portion 21 of said peripheral face isbrought into engagement with said plunger. When said engagement has beeneffected, the operator will become aware of it through feel.

While one illustrative embodiment of the invention has been described indetail, it is not my intention to limit its scope to that embodiment orotherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A valve device comprising a casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein, a valve for controlling communication through said conduit, astem for said valve, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing andoperative to control the operation of said stem, a shaft rotatablymounted in said casing and having shoulders formed thereon, a cam onsaid shaft for controlling the operation of said plunger, and means forrotating said shaft, said plunger being adapted to engage said shouldersto prevent movement of said shaft in the direction of its length.

2. A valve device comprising a casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein, a valve for controlling communication through said conduit, astern for said valve, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing andoperative to control the operation of said stem, a shaft rotatablymounted in said casing and having shoulders formed thereon interlockingwith said plunger for preventing movement of said shaft in the direction7 of its length, a cam on said shaft for controlling the operation ofsaid plunger, means for rotating said shaft, and means for maintainingsaid plunger in operative relation with said cam and in interlockingrelation with said shoulders.

3. A Valve device comprising a casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein, a valve for controlling comrnrmication through said conduit, astem for said valve, plunger slidably mounted in said casing andoperative to control the operation of said stem, a shaft rotatablymounted in said casing and having shoulders formed thereon interlockingwith said plunger for preventing movement of said shaft in the directionof its length, cam on said shaft for controlling the operation of saidplunger, means for rotating said shaft, and spring means for maintainingsaid plunger in operative relation with said cam and in interlockingrelation with said shoulders.

4. A valve device comprising a, casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein, a valve for controlling communication through said conduit, aseat for said valve, a stem for said valve, a plunger slidably mountedin said casing and on said stem and being normallyspaced away from theend of said stem, means for actuating said plunger into operativeengagement with the end of said stem, yieldable means urging said valveto said seat, and yieldable means for maintaining said plunger spacedaway from the end of said stem when said valve is seated.

5. A valve device comprising a casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein, a, valve for controlling communication through said conduit, aseat for said valve, a stem for said valve, a spring seat removablymounted on said stem, a spring under initial compression interposedbetween and engaging said casing and said spring seat for urging saidvalve to said valve seat, a member removably carried by said stem forretaining said spring seat in position on said stem against the actionof said spring, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing and operableto. control the operation of said stem, means for controlling theoperation of said plungenand means associated with said plunger formaintaining said member in its spring seat retaining position.

6. A valve device comprising a casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein, a valve for controlling communication through said conduit, aseat for said valve, a stem for said valve, a spring seat removablymounted on said stem, a spring under initial compression interposedbetween and engaging said casing and said spring seat for urging saidvalve to said valve seat, a member removably carried by said stem forretaining said spring seat in position on said stein against the actionof said spring, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing and operableto control the operation of said stem, means for control ing theoperation of said plunger, and means associated with said plunger andadapted to prevent the unintentional separation of said member from saidstem.

7. A valve device comprising a casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein, a valve for controlling communication through said conduit, aseat for said valve, a stem for said valve, a spring seat removablymounted on said stem, a spring under initial compression interposedbetween and engaging said casing and said spring seat for urging saidvalve to said valve seat, a pin removably carried by said stern forretaining said spring seat in position on said stem against the actionof said spring, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing and operableto control the operation of said stem, and means for controlling theoperation of said plunger, said plunger having a flange formed thereonextending across the ends of said pin and adapted to prevent theunintentional separation of said pin from said stem.

8. A valve device comprising a casing having a fluid conduit formedtherein and also having an opening, valve means for controllingcommunication through said conduit and comprising a valve, a stem forsaid valve and a member for controlling the operation of said stem, ashaft rotatably mounted in said casing for controlling the operation ofsaid member, means for rotating said shaft, and means on said shaftengaging said member for locking said shaft against movement in thedirection of its length, said member being adapted to be moved by atool, adapted to be inserted in the casing, out of locking engagementwith said shaft into a position permitting insertion of another toolthrough said opening and into engagement with said member to maintainsaid member in said position.

CLYDE C. FARMER.

